Chapter 20 Part 3

Mo Liang himself was rather surprised. What he’d projected into the Small World through self-dimensional reduction was merely a wisp of consciousness. His territory’s coverage, perception, reaction speed, and so on should all have been considerably weakened.

【Wait, is he looking right at our position? Didn’t you say your coating was absolutely invisible?】

【…He’s probably just spacing out.】

As if confirming the system’s words, about three or four seconds later, Li Zhuo slowly shifted his gaze away and strode to catch up with the main group ahead.

【Told you so.】

【The coating is flawless…】

The Ball of Light pulsed with a faint glow.

【This is the latest in optical mimicry…】

Mo Liang ignored the system’s boasting, once again meticulously checking over Li Zhuo’s various biometrics.

By Mo Liang’s standards, many ingredients in the summer camp’s lunch were not fresh enough, the nutrition imbalanced, the cutlery not properly sanitized. Naturally, he worried whether his child might have stomach issues.

Thankfully, the scan results showed everything normal.

【Received a message. View or not.】

He didn’t even need to check. From that familiar signature fluctuation spilling out, Mo Liang could guess who it was from.

Nothing more than colleagues from the lab. They’d been hounding him relentlessly before for his ██ genes, wanting to study why his rejection reaction was getting weaker and weaker. Later, they wanted Li Zhuo’s DNA too. As if that was even possible!

When Mo Liang first joined the lab, it wasn’t like other members of his kind, seeking better treatment, status, or chasing some dream. He was just looking for his child.

And now, he’d found his child. Naturally, he had to shield the child from all prying eyes, benevolent or malicious.

【From now on, reject all such messages.】

[The Nurturer has the duty to protect the child’s safety.]

[Even from fellow kindred, no exceptions.]

~

Hai City had sweltered under a heatwave for three consecutive days. Skyscrapers warped and rippled in the heat haze. Leaves on the roadside trees drooped limp and listless, parched.

The entire city seemed trapped under an invisible thermal net. Even at night, the oppressive heat showed no sign of receding.

Aunt Liu had merely spent a little extra time outside. By the time she returned to the Li Family residence, her back was already soaked with a thin layer of sweat.

She was accompanied by her youngest daughter, who had come to visit during summer break. They followed a winding path of bluestone slabs, threading through a garden designed in the classical Chinese landscape style.

A stream babbled through it. The artfully arranged rock formations looked as if nature itself had placed them, like a delicate landscape painting.

The little girl was, after all, young, and it was her first time visiting her mother’s workplace. Excitement was written all over her face.

“It’s so hot outside, but the moment you come in here, it’s so cool, I’m almost chilly! Did they turn on a ton of air conditioners? But I can’t see a single one…”

“Yes, many of them. But they’re hidden underground, of course you can’t see them.”

“They just run them like this all day long? The electricity bill must be astronomical!”

Electricity bill? They needed to consider that?

Aunt Liu didn’t know much about the garden’s design. She only heard the entire complex was arranged by some Feng Shui master. Every object within, down to the smallest, most inconspicuous patch of moss, was jaw-droppingly expensive.

As merely one of the Li Family’s hired workers, Aunt Liu naturally couldn’t grasp the deeper meaning. She only vaguely sensed that the main family seemed extremely meticulous about certain details.

Just as they reached the housekeeper’s quarters, she didn’t elaborate further. Smiling, she patted her daughter’s head and led her into the one-room suite she normally lived in.

The fruit she’d put in the fridge before leaving was perfectly chilled now. Seeing her daughter eating happily, even the sticky sweat on Aunt Liu’s back felt more bearable.

“I’m off today. From tomorrow I won’t be able to keep you company. Don’t wander off randomly, just stay around here.”

As the mother and daughter chatted, a knock came at the door. Two middle-aged women squeezed in, wearing uniforms in a similar style to Aunt Liu’s.

One hadn’t even crossed the threshold fully before she started firing off: “Didn’t the Mister mention the Young Master this morning? Said to have the Eldest Young Master bring him back…”

Aunt Liu replied: “And then?”

This news was no secret; it had already spread among the Li Family staff. Everyone assumed that, barring any surprises, Li Zhuo would soon return to the Li household for the summer break.

The staff member in charge of cleaning the rooms had even, around noon, meticulously tidied Li Zhuo’s room from top to bottom all over again. The housekeeper had likewise proactively added Li Zhuo’s previously favored dishes and desserts to next week’s menu.

“Back, my foot! He’s not coming!”

The other staff member, responsible for maintaining the garden plants, spoke up: “Today the Eldest Young Master called back. Said he checked with the school, the Young Master went off to some summer camp. He’s not even in Changyang anymore.”

“Well, the camp has to end sometime, doesn’t it?”

“But the Mister’s attitude was just so…”

The third staff member, who, like Aunt Liu, was responsible for purchasing and cooking and thus had slightly more contact with Li Huachuan than others, softly sighed.

“He just seemed to mention it offhandedly, didn’t seem to care at all whether Young Master Zhuo came back or not. The moment he heard the boy was already gone to camp, he didn’t bring up bringing him back again…”

Just like with Li Zhuo’s living expenses and life in Changyang. Merely mentioned once, and upon learning Li Xuan was managing it, he never asked again. Did he actually send money or not? How much did he send? None of that mattered.

Some staff members had once secretly discussed this: what if the money wasn’t being sent? Sigh.

“And the Madam?”

“The Madam does want Young Master Zhuo back. But you know how it is, the Madam always defers to the Mister…”

One staffer grabbed some melon seeds to crack: “Why’d the Young Master have to pick exactly this time for summer camp? Such bad timing… Sigh…”

“Yeah, would’ve been better if he hadn’t gone.”

The youngest daughter, who had been quietly listening, suddenly interrupted: “If they wanted to bring him back, why wait until the holidays to ask? Shouldn’t they have asked before the break started?”

The other two staff members had varied expressions. Aunt Liu slowly spoke: “Perhaps it’s… there’s a little care there, but not very much. So he just asked casually.”

The others also fell silent.

The Li Family wasn’t large, and the staff’s work was fairly relaxed. Among them were young and beautiful ones, naturally, but also ones like themselves, who’d gotten in on solid, hard skills.

The shortest tenure among the three of them was five years, the longest over a decade. Almost all of them had witnessed the entire arc of Li Zhuo from his arrival at the Li Family to his departure.

Aunt Liu especially. When Li Zhuo was still at the Li household, she had been responsible for his daily needs, meals and living, and had spent the most time with him day to day.

“That child was really quite decent…”

“Yeah.”

“Sigh.“

The three Li Family staff members gathered, unknowingly drifting into reminiscing about the two years Li Zhuo had lived there.

A half-grown child from an isolated mountain village, coming to the city for the first time. He didn’t know how to use so many of the smart appliances at home. Though the Li house was obviously his own home, within his own home, he was so lost and awkward.

A child so sensitive and fragile he dared not meet anyone’s eyes when speaking, who became flustered by a few casual words of praise. Through constant conflict and misunderstanding, he ended up that way.

The week before leaving the Li household, he rarely spoke, rarely smiled anymore. It seemed he didn’t know how to face things, so he chose to push everyone away and huddle alone in the corner.

They didn’t understand matters of grades or performance, didn’t know what effect his “scandalous” jokes had on the Li Family. They just felt that the child’s character was quite good, that his simple, honest eyes were so clear you could seemingly see the soul within.

“Could it be he’s really never coming back?”

One staffer lowered her voice: “I heard that Li Xuan is actually the Mister’s son too.”

“But they don’t really look alike either.”

“Probably takes after the mother? Who knows.” The staffer casually changed tack: “Last week the Mister fired another maid…”

“I knew that already. Too young still, so flagrant about it. Did she think that would sound good if it got out? The Mister values face above else. Just as stupid as that Chen Xiao’e from before…” Aunt Liu said with disdain.

“What was the deal with Chen Xiao’e anyway? By the time I started working here, she was already gone. I just heard the Madam fined her five hundred once because of her, and she got Young Master Zhuo sold out? She went to jail last year…”

Aunt Liu pulled a bag of melon seeds from the drawer, dividing them as she talked:

“Back then, she was young and pretty. After accompanying the Mister on one out-of-town trip, she came back not knowing her place, acting like the real lady of the house. Got caught secretly hiding the Madam’s jewelry. The Madam docked her pay and fired her…”

“That in itself was nothing. The Mister secretly gave her a sum then, but she wasn’t satisfied. Really believed the Mister would marry her. How could that be possible? Stupid as they come, believing whatever a man casually says…”

The other two staffers each took a handful of melon seeds. They chatted more about those moldy old tales.

Chen Xiao’e had been pregnant at the time, which was why she’d been so bold. Don’t know how, but suddenly she miscarried. Over the years, it wasn’t that the Mister had no one on the side, it’s just that not a single belly stirred.

Maybe the Madam knew nothing of these affairs. But maybe she did know. Pointing them out just wasn’t beneficial. Would she really cause a huge uproar just to win some face, only to end up yielding her position? Better to feign deafness and ignorance, pretend to know nothing, and at least secure her own benefits.